Here we go -- FINALLY! A pond for wildlife...

[YShahar]

We will see how things go in the Spring. I wonder if the lilies will end up dying, since the leaves never get a chance to grow? I've been thinking about a little floating island, to provide some shelter in the absence of lily leaves. I have these cool plastic geometric floating grid things. I think Yshahar mentioned them at one point. You can connect as many as you need to get the desired size and approximate shape. I think I might put together 6 or 7, then try covering with some underlayment fabric. It should stay wet, since it will be lying right on the surface of the water. I thought maybe I could pat some moss down on the fabric. If it works, it could be kind of cool. Floating shade and shelter that might look like an island or a rock. We will see. It really isn't necessary, since the fish have two big caves to hide in. But they might like it.

You could also make a floating plant island by filling a couple of milk crates up with empty water-tight bottles, zip-tying them together and turning them upside down. Then put couple of shallow pots and maybe a couple of rocks on top and voila! instant island!

I have those little plastic grid things, but haven't tried them out yet. They're meant to float just below the water surface, so as to be almost invisible, but I read where a reviewer on Amazon but a layer of bubble wrap underneath them so they would float better.

 

[SarahT]

You could also make a floating plant island by filling a couple of milk crates up with empty water-tight bottles, zip-tying them together and turning them upside down. Then put couple of shallow pots and maybe a couple of rocks on top and voila! instant island!

I have those little plastic grid things, but haven't tried them out yet. They're meant to float just below the water surface, so as to be almost invisible, but I read where a reviewer on Amazon but a layer of bubble wrap underneath them so they would float better.

Has anyone else had fish that beached themslves on a floating island? I had made a floating island for shade for the fish with pool noodles and shadecloth attached on them on the top, but my koi beached himself on it, looking for food, I guess (not a suntan?). I happened to be home and see him, and dumped him off the island. Maybe my island was too level or had an indentation in the middle that he couldn't navigate? After he was off, I cut escape slits down the shadecloth, so it looks ragged and unattractive but still provides decent shade (It's possible the fish is out there in the pond thinking, "I could have gotten off the island by myself, but noooo ....")
Back to my Q: any beached-fish island problems? or island-design suggestions? Thanks.

 

[addy1]

@bagsmom I have had deer yank the lily out of the pond, inhale the pads, leave the tuber on the land, the lily has survived. They are tough plants.

 

[bagsmom]

I am heading out today to do some leaf removal. Oh boy! This is the first Fall with the pond up and running. I thought I would be ok without a net but next year - there will be a net! The intake bay is really helping. I've been scooping out heavy, full nets of leaves several times a day. But there are still many up in the bog and along the edges - some down at the bottom.
I am going to try to get the bulk of them out but will leave some in place for wildlife over the winter. (I say that like it is an intentional strategy on my part. Really, I know there is no way I'm going to get all those leaves out. )
Wish me luck!
OH - We also had a huge buck who spent the night by the pond. We counted 10 points on his rack. He is a big boy but didn't want to cooperate for photos. This morning, we have six ladies out back, apparently attracted by Mr. Beefcake. The girls are peeing a lot (claiming their area? Claiming their man?) They are also being kind of mean and testy with each other.
The world runs on hormones...

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I am heading out today to do some leaf removal. Oh boy! This is the first Fall with the pond up and running. I thought I would be ok without a net but next year - there will be a net! The intake bay is really helping. I've been scooping out heavy, full nets of leaves several times a day. But there are still many up in the bog and along the edges - some down at the bottom.
I am going to try to get the bulk of them out but will leave some in place for wildlife over the winter. (I say that like it is an intentional strategy on my part. Really, I know there is no way I'm going to get all those leaves out. )
Wish me luck!
OH - We also had a huge buck who spent the night by the pond. We counted 10 points on his rack. He is a big boy but didn't want to cooperate for photos. This morning, we have six ladies out back, apparently attracted by Mr. Beefcake. The girls are peeing a lot (claiming their area? Claiming their man?) They are also being kind of mean and testy with each other.
The world runs on hormones...

Have fun! I just came in from doing a pretty major leaf scooping. We've had two days of rain & it's brought the leaves down in force!

 

[Tula]

I didn't net the pond this year since we have no fish. ......big mistake.....scooping leaves from the pond with no fish to look at is boring - LOL !

 

[GBBUDD]

If you have noticed in my photos and videos of the pond I have nothing but full size moster trees on three sides. 5 to be exact and two ornamented trees a weeping red bug and an accusa dogwood. I dread the leaves but this year I tried a different approach.
I didn't pull the golf net accross the back of the pond to catch the monster Mapple tree. That just made the leaves fall into the landscape garden . Instead I made the intake bay very shallow at the opening and it worked so good in the deep end of the pond there's hardly a leaf. That made its way to the bottom. And where I have a negative edge at the end of the intake bay instead of pulling. The water down into the rocks in the end of the intake bay.
When the water falls over the negative edge I place a large koi net and the leaves drop right in fter going over the falls.
Yes it's heavy but very little fight anywhere else. The leaves that don't go over the negative edge all get pulled toward it and just sink to the bottom its only 3 feet deep or so and all the leaves are concentrated.
It's a heck of a lot less work with all the leaves in two spots then to have to skim the whole pond catching leaves one at a time sorta speak.

 

[Lisak1]

@SarahT - yes indeed. We used to have a big koi who would throw herself about halfway out of the pond to get food. On rocks, on plants, into the floating island. I replaced mine with one that was more like a floating basket so the sides were too high for her to leap. And we were really careful to make sure we didn't throw food anywhere near it!

@GBBUDD I've pondered a whole lot the issue of leaves over the negative edge and have tried the pond net at the opening idea. It would work great if we had built our opening to accommodate the net more completely. Too many just slide on by. We don't have a lot of leaves, by our magnolia dumps a ton and they are giant leaves - one of them can effectively block a lot of water flow into the rain exchange and back it up. I'm still thinking about constructing a customized basket of some sort that I can drop down in there - we can pull the gravel back completely and get a depression of about 8-10 inches that would hold a basket of some sort. This will be my winter thinking project!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

If you have noticed in my photos and videos of the pond I have nothing but full size moster trees on three sides. 5 to be exact and two ornamented trees a weeping red bug and an accusa dogwood. I dread the leaves but this year I tried a different approach.

OK, I'm sorry but this sort of made me laugh. You have **5** monster trees on three sides of your pond? I have probably 500. Well, they aren't all 'monsters', but.... yeah. My pond doesn't have anywhere near the surface area of yours, though, so my two skimmers do a good enough job pulling the leaves towards the ends where I just scoop. And scoop. And scoop. And scoop.....

 

[GBBUDD]

A locast which is actual in the drive way to the west those tiny leaves when they fall half migrate into the pond. The there's the Norwegian maple , the chest nut the Maple above the bog and an oak that's tangled with the Mae and neighbors Norwegian. I don't lol when it's leave time but this year I believe I have figured it out where it's not so bad.

I have the helix skimmer that has the triple deep pool ski.mer basket and it would get dammed up in less than an hour because of all the leaves

 

[GBBUDD]

@SarahT - yes indeed. We used to have a big koi who would throw herself about halfway out of the pond to get food. On rocks, on plants, into the floating island. I replaced mine with one that was more like a floating basket so the sides were too high for her to leap. And we were really careful to make sure we didn't throw food anywhere near it!

@GBBUDD I've pondered a whole lot the issue of leaves over the negative edge and have tried the pond net at the opening idea. It would work great if we had built our opening to accommodate the net more completely. Too many just slide on by. We don't have a lot of leaves, by our magnolia dumps a ton and they are giant leaves - one of them can effectively block a lot of water flow into the rain exchange and back it up. I'm still thinking about constructing a customized basket of some sort that I can drop down in there - we can pull the gravel back completely and get a depression of about 8-10 inches that would hold a basket of some sort. This will be my winter thinking project!

One thing I have done and I know you have a couple is aquablocks make great strainers cut the block pannels to the size you want then you zip ties to secure the blocks into your basket.

 

[addy1]

Our dominant wind blows them all away from the pond.................even when the big maple was still alive right next to the pond. It stays pretty much leafless.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Our dominant wind blows them all away from the pond.................even when the big maple was still alive right next to the pond. It stays pretty much leafless.

That would be nice, but I guess I can't really complain. What did I think would happen when I put a pond in a small clearing in the middle of a mature forest?

 

[Lisak1]

One thing I have done and I know you have a couple is aquablocks make great strainers cut the block pannels to the size you want then you zip ties to secure the blocks into your basket.

Oooohhhhh... that's a brilliant thought! You're putting me on a path here. I may be out there cutting myself a template later today!

 

[bagsmom]

Just popping in to wish everyone wonderful winter holidays! Whatever you celebrate - celebrate well!
We are expecting some arctic blasts here in the next week - I think one day is showing highs right around freezing and lows in the teens. That almost never happens. We were discussing this, looking outside at the pond with the gently flowing bog and slow moving intake bay. It will be extremely interesting to see what freezes - how much of it freezes - and how long it stays frozen.
I have ice sculpture pictures of the front yard waterfall and that has a much more robust flow. I just hope any ice that forms doesn't cause a backup. We will be watching with interest!